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Russian state-owned Rosneft is a Sakhalin-1 shareholder

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US sanctioned Rosneft, Lukoil last month

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Marubeni ( MARUF ) co-owns SODECO, a Sakhalin-1 shareholder

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Marubeni's ( MARUF ) 6-mo profit up on strong performance in

financial,

food businesses

(Adds details, quotes, background, releads)

By Yuka Obayashi and Katya Golubkova

TOKYO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Marubeni ( MARUF ) plans to

follow the guidance of the Japanese government regarding its

involvement in Russia's Sakhalin-1 oil project after the U.S.

government sanctioned the project's key shareholder Rosneft, its

CEO said on Tuesday.

Last month, the U.S. hit Russia's major oil companies

Rosneft and Lukoil with sanctions, the most

recent step to force the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine. The

U.S. will allow operations with Rosneft and Lukoil to wind down

until November 21.

Marubeni ( MARUF ) is a shareholder with Japan's SODECO consortium, a

Sakhalin-1 co-owner. Other Japanese stakeholders in SODECO

include Itochu ( ITOCF ), Japan Petroleum Exploration ( JPTXF ),

Inpex ( IPXHF ) and the industry ministry.

"I am very concerned about the recent changes," Marubeni ( MARUF ) CEO

Masayuki Omoto told a briefing. "I will firmly ally with the

Japan government's response (to the latest sanctions)."

ExxonMobil ( XOM ), which used to own a 30% stake in

Sakhalin-1 and had led the project since it started in the

1990s, took an impairment charge of $4.6 billion to exit its

Russian businesses after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in

February 2022.

In October that year, the Kremlin appointed Rosneft

subsidiary Sakhalinmorneftegaz-shelf as the new operator of

Sakhalin-1. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a

decree extending the sale period for the unclaimed Exxon stake

in Sakhalin-1 until 2026.

Before Exxon's exit, Rosneft and India's ONGC Videsh

owned a 20% in the project each and the SODECO

consortium controlled a 30% stake.

PROFIT UP

Omoto made the comments during Marubeni's ( MARUF ) earnings briefing.

The company reported a 28% rise in its first-half net profit to

305.5 billion yen ($2 billion), helped by a stronger performance

in its financial, real estate and food businesses.

The company, in which Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) owns a

stake, kept its annual net profit forecast unchanged at 510

billion yen, including a 30 billion yen cushion for

contingencies.

Marubeni ( MARUF ) plans total asset divestments of 250 billion yen

this fiscal year, including in its natural resources segment,

more than double the already achieved 96.2 billion yen of

divestments so far.

($1 = 150.7800 yen)